March 18
Events *3952 BC - According to the Venerable Bede, the world was created. * 37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Caligula emperor. * 731 - Saint Gregory III begins his reign as Pope. *1229 - Frederick II declares himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade. *1241 - Kraków is ravaged by Mongols. *1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar is burned at the stake. *1438 - Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of Germany. *1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia *1673 - John Berkeley sells his part of New Jersey to some Friends (Quakers). *1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which was very unpopular in the British colonies. *1793 - The first republican state in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann. *1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union. *1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells & William Fargo. *1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time. *1871 - Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic Adolphe Thiers orders evacuation of Paris. *1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights. *1893 - Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best ice hockey team in Canada; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams. *1906 - Traian Vuia flies a self-propelled heavier-than-air aircraft. *1909 - Einar Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster. *1913 - King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki. *1915 - World War I: Massive naval attack in Battle of Gallipoli. Three battleships are sunk during a failed British & French naval attack on the Dardanelles. *1921 - The second Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Union. *1922 - In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience. He would serve only 2 years. * 1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City. *1925 - The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people. *1937 - The New London School explosion kills three hundred, mostly children. * 1937 - Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces hand Italian forces a grave defeat at the Battle of Guadalajara. *1938 - Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders. *1940 - World War II: Axis Powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom. *1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin. *1953 - An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 250. *1959 - American President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21. *1962 - The Evian Accords puts an end to the Algerian War of Independence, which began in 1954. *1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space. *1967 - Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast. *1968 - Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency. *1970 - Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. *1971 - A landslide at Chungar, Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200. *1974 - Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan. *1980 - On Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, 50 people are killed at an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation. *1985 - The Australian television series Neighbours airs its first episode. *1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops. *1990 - In largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. *1997 - The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 on board and leading to the grounding of all An-24s. *1999 - Launching of Internet Explorer 4.0.2144 *2003 - US enters war in Iraq. About $1 billion was taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States began bombing Iraq, biggest bank robbery in history. http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/06/sprj.nilaw.bank/ * 2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives. * 2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language. *2005 - The first-ever Muslim Friday prayer led by a woman in a mixed-gender congregation is held in New York City, marking a break with a 1426-year Islamic tradition. * 2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband, fueling a worldwide debate on euthanasia. * 2007 - Steven Avery convicted for homicide because of DNA evidence, DNA having shown his innocence following a previous conviction. Births *1395 - John Holland, English military leader (d. 1447) *1496 - Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533) *1555 - François (d. 1584) *1590 - Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649) *1602 - Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (d. 1679) *1603 - Simon Bradstreet, Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693) *1634 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, French writer (d. 1693) *1640 - Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719) *1657 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (d. 1743) *1679 - Matthew Decker, English merchant and writer (d. 1759) *1685 - Ralph Ersine, Scottish minister (d. 1752) *1690 - Christian Goldbach, Prussian mathematician (d. 1764) *1701 - Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (d. 1776) *1780 - Milos Obrenovic, Leader of The Second Serbian Uprising and Prince of Serbia (d. 1860) *1782 - John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States (d. 1850) *1813 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German writer (d. 1864) *1823 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy, French general (d. 1883) *1828 - William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908) *1837 - Grover Cleveland, President of the United States (d. 1908) *1840 - William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901) *1842 - Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet (d. 1898) *1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (d. 1908) *1848 - Nathanael Herreshoff, American naval architect (d. 1938) * 1848 - Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1939) *1858 - Rudolf Diesel, German inventor (d. 1913) *1869 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940) *1872 - Anna Held, Polish actress and singer (d. 1918) *1874 - Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian philosopher (d. 1948) *1877 - Edgar Cayce, American psychic (d. 1945) * 1877 - Clem Hill, Australian cricketer (d. 1945) *1882 - Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (d. 1973) *1886 - Edward Everett Horton, American actor (d. 1970) *1898 - Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (d. 1960) *1893 - Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (d. 1978) * 1893 - Wilfred Owen, British poet (d. 1918) *1899 - Jean Goldkette, Greek-born jazz musician (d. 1962) *1904 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (d. 1926) *1905 - Robert Donat, English actor (d. 1958) * 1905 - Thomas Townsend Brown, American scientist (d. 1985) *1907 - John Zachary Young, British biologist (d. 1997) *1909 - Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007) *1910 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (d. 1988) *1911 - Smiley Burnette, American singer and songwriter (d. 1967) *1913 - Werner Molders German WWII pilot (d. 1941) * 1913 - René Clément, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1996) *1915 - Richard Condon, American novelist (d. 1996) *1917 - Frederika of Hanover, queen of the Hellenes (d. 1981) *1918 - Al Benton, American baseball player (d. 1968) * 1918 - Bob Broeg, American sports writer (d. 2005) *1922 - Egon Bahr, German politician *1923 - Andy Granatelli, American motorsports entrepreneur *1926 - Peter Graves, American actor * 1926 - Dick Littlefield, American baseball player (d. 1997) *1927 - John Kander, American songwriter * 1927 - George Plimpton, American writer and actor (d. 2003) *1928 - Julia Mullock, Princess of Korea * 1928 - Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist * 1928 - Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Philippines * 1929 - John Macurdy, American bass *1930 - Pat Halcox, British musician *1931 - John Fraser, Scottish-born stage, film and television actor *1932 - John Updike, American author *1935 - Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician *1936 - Frederik Willem de Klerk, President of South Africa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize *1937 - Mark Donohue, American race car driver (d. 1975) * 1937 - Rudi Altig, German cyclist *1938 - Charley Pride, American musician *1939 - Ron Atkinson, English former footballer and manager * 1939 - Giannis Markopoulos, Greek composer *1941 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006) * 1941 - John W. Derr, American politician *1943 - Kevin Dobson, American actor *1947 - B.J. Wilson, English drummer (d. 1990) * 1947 - Patrick Chesnais, French actor * 1947 - Patrick Barlow, English actor, comedian and playwright *1948 - Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player *1949 - Alex Higgins, Northern Irish snooker player * 1949 - Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer and politician *1950 - Brad Dourif, American actor * 1950 - Richard Kretchmer, English artist and historian * 1950 - Rodney Milburn, American athlete (d. 1997) * 1950 - Larry Perkins, Australian racing driver *1951 - Bill Frisell, American jazz musician * 1951 - Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream *1952 - Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002) *1956 - Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish skier *1957 - György Pazdera, Hungarian bassist (Pokolgép) *1959 - Luc Besson, French producer, writer, and director * 1959 - Irene Cara, American actress and singer *1960 - Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004) * 1960 - Guy Carbonneau, Canadian ice hockey player and manager *1962 - Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor * 1962 - James McMurtry, American folk singer/songwriter * 1962 - Mike Rowe, American television personality *1963 - Jeff LaBar, American guitarist *1963 - Vanessa L. Williams, American beauty queen, actress, and singer *1964 - Bonnie Blair, American speed skater * 1964 - Courtney Pine, British jazz saxophonist * 1964 - Rozalla, Zambian singer *1966 - Jerry Cantrell, American musician *1967 - Miki Berenyi, English singer (Lush) *1968 - Shinichiro Miki, Japanese seiyu (voice actor) *1969 - Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player * 1969 - Shaun Udal, English cricketer *1970 - Queen Latifah, American singer and actress *1972 - Dane Cook, American comedian and actor *1973 - Max Barry, Australian author *1975 - Brian Griese, American football player * 1975 - Tomas Žvirgždauskas, Lithuanian footballer * 1975 - Sutton Foster, American actress, singer, and dancer *1975 - Rodleen Getsic, American musician, civil servant *1976 - Jovan Kirovski, American soccer player * 1976 - Tomokazu Ohka, Japanese baseball player * 1976 - Scott Podsednik, American baseball player *1977 - Danny Murphy, English footballer * 1977 - Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player * 1977 - Devin Lima, American singer * 1977 - Willy Sagnol, French footballer * 1977 - Terrmel Sledge, American baseball player * 1977 - Fernando Rodney, American baseball player *1978 - Khalilah Adams, American actress * 1978 - Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player * 1978 - Jan Bulis, Czech ice hockey player *1979 - Adam Levine, American singer (Maroon 5) * 1979 - Brandon Lee, American adult actor *1980 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater * 1980 - Sophia Myles, English actress *1980 - Sebastien Frey, French footballer *1981 - Jang Nara, Korean singer and actress *1982 - Chad Cordero, American baseball player * 1982 - Pedro Mantorras, Angolan footballer *1983 - Andy Sonnanstine, American baseball player *1984 - Vonzell Solomon, American Idol Contestant *1985 - Vince Lia, Australian Footballer *1986 - Bia Figueiredo, Brazilian racing driver *1992 - Alexander John Amadeus Broadbent, Englsih Arsenal Midfielder *1996 - Madeline Carroll, American actress Deaths * 978 - King Edward the Martyr of England *1227 - Pope Honorius III (b. 1148) *1314 - Jacques DeMolay, Frankish noble, the 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b.1244) *1583 - King Magnus of Livonia (b. 1540) *1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (b. 1530) *1675 - Arthur Chichester, Irish soldier (b. 1606) *1689 - John Dixwell, English judge (b. 1607) *1696 - Robert Charnock, English conspirator *1745 - Sir Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676) *1746 - Anna Leopoldovna, regent of Russia (b. 1718) *1768 - Laurence Sterne, Irish writer (b. 1713) *1781 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (b. 1727) *1823 - Jean-Baptiste Breval, French composer (b. 1753) *1835 - Christian Gunther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat (b. 1769) *1871 - Augustus De Morgan, Indian-born British mathematician and logician (b. 1806) *1898 - Matilda Joslyn Gage, American suffragist (b. 1826) *1907 - Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician (b. 1827) *1913 - King George I of Greece (b. 1845) *1936 - Eleftherios Venizelos, Former Prime minister of Greece *1939 - Henry Simpson Lunn, English humanitarian and religious leader (b. 1859) *1941 - Henri Cornet, French cyclist (b. 1884) *1945 - William Grover-Williams, British racing driver *1947 - William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer (b. 1861) *1962 - Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (b. 1880) *1963 - Wanda Hawley, American actress (b. 1895) *1964 - Sigfrid Edström, Swedish sports official (b. 1870) *1965 - King Farouk I of Egypt (b. 1920) *1969 - Barbara Bates, American film actress (b. 1925) *1973 - Lauritz Melchior, Danish-born American opera singer (b. 1890) *1975 - Alain Grandbois, Quebec poet (b. 1900) *1976 - Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (b. 1893) *1977 - Marien Ngouabi, President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938) * 1977 - José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944) *1978 - Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915) * 1978 - Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892) *1983 - King Umberto II of Italy, (b. 1904) * 1983 - Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (b. 1910) *1984 - Charlie Lau, American baseball player (b. 1933) *1986 - Bernard Malamud, American writer (b. 1914) *1988 - Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1917) *1990 - Robin Harris, American actor and comedian (b. 1953) *1995 - Robin Jacques, illustrator of children's books (b. 1920) *1996 - Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911) *1999 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (b. 1905) *2000 - Eberhard Bethge, German theologian (b. 1909) *2001 - John Phillips, American musician (The Mamas and the Papas) (b. 1935) *2002 - R.A. Lafferty, American science fiction writer (b. 1914) * 2002 - Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor (b. 1943) *2003 - Karl Kling, German race car driver (b. 1910) * 2003 - Adam Osborne, British computer pioneer (b. 1939) *2004 - Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (b. 1927) *2006 - Bill Beutel, American journalist (b. 1930) * 2006 - Dan Gibson, musician (b. 1922) *2007 - Bob Woolmer, English cricketer and Pakistan national coach (b. 1948) Holidays and observances * Aruba - Flag Day (1976) * Ancient Latvia - Bindus Diena * United States - National Biodiesel Day * Mothers Day (Ireland, United Kingdom, Nigeria) * Mexico - Expropiación Petrolera Liturgical feasts * Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (d.386) * Saint Alexander of Jerusalem * Saint Anselm * Saint Edward the Martyr (d.978) * Saint Narcissus * Saint Salvator External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:March